Last year, Jennifer Kupcho thrived in the college postseason. The Westminster resident and Wake Forest golfer finished second in the ACC Championships, won an NCAA regional tournament and finished second in the NCAA finals.
On Saturday, the Coloradan set herself up nicely for what she hopes will be a similarly successful run.
In her final tournament of the regular season, Kupcho won the Bryan National Collegiate at Browns Summit, N.C.
It was Kupcho’s second individual victory of the season and the fifth of her college career at Wake Forest.
The junior, the No. 3-ranked women’s amateur in the world, shot rounds of 72-72-71 for a 1-under-par 215 total at the Bryan Park Champions Course. That gave Kupcho a two-stroke victory over Naomi Ko of North Carolina State.
Kupcho (pictured in a Wake Forest photo), who finished 21st in the U.S. Women’s Open last year, rallied from a three-stroke deficit going into the final round.
“It is terrific to see Jennifer play so well,” said Wake Forest coach Dianne Dailey. “She is such a strong player and loves to play in adverse conditions, and today was set up perfectly for her. She is such a fantastic player and I know there are even more victories in her future.”
The result was the 20th top-10 individual finish of Kupcho’s college career, but first of the spring portion of this season’s schedule. The three-time CWGA Stroke Play champion is ranked ninth and 11th among women’s collegians this season by Golfweek and Golfstat, respectively. Last month, she was named to the U.S. team for the Arnold Palmer Cup.
With Kupcho leading the way, Wake Forest on Saturday won its first team title since October 2016. The Demon Deacons prevailed by five strokes over Furman.
Colorado State placed 15th in the 17-team field, with Katrina Prendergast leading the way with a 16th-place showing at 9-over-par 225.
Bryan National Collegiate
April 6-7, 2018 (final) in Browns Summit, N.C.
15. (out of 17 teams) Colorado State 308-306-316–930
16. Katrina Prendergast 74-77-74–225
21. Ellen Secor 79-71-76–226
68. Jessica Sloot 79-79-81–239
83. Brooke Nolte 76-84-85–245
86. Haley Greb 83-79-85–247
Also
1. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest 72-72-71–215
